THE revelation that Jamie Bulger killer Jon Venables lived in Cheshire has sent a shockwave through the county.

The news of his secret double life - at an unidentified location in the county - was revealed following his conviction for having child pornography pictures on his computer.

It has now been revealed that, since 2007, Cheshire Probation and Cheshire Constabulary, as partners in the local MAPPA (Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements) played a part in the arrangements set up to manage Jon Venables in the community.

They say that on February 22, they were notified by Venables who believed his cover had been blown, exposing him to risk of reprisal attacks.

A police spokesman explained: “He believed his new identity was compromised, with a number of people in the community having identified him.

“A trigger plan was put into place to move Jon Venables from his home immediately.

“When a police officer arrived to escort Venables to a new location, he found him tampering with the hard drive of his computer. This behaviour aroused suspicions and Venables was removed to a police station. The computer was seized.

“The computer was forensically examined and a number of offences detected involving images of abuse.

“A decision was taken by Cheshire Probation to recall Jon Venables to prison because of concerns about his behaviour.

“A voluntary bill of indictment was preferred on May 26 and on July 21 further charges were added via a second voluntary bill. Jon Venables pleaded guilty to these charges on July 23 and has been sentenced to two years imprisonment.”

l There is a court ban in force preventing the media from identifying the new identity of Venables or the exact location of where he was living under his assumed name.